When considering where she wanted to play collegiate volleyball, Whitney Dosty had better knowledge of the Arizona family because a member of her own family was once a Wildcat as well.

Her father, Robbie Dosty, an ex-Arizona basketball player and seventh-round pick of the Golden State Warriors in the 1981 NBA Draft, was by her side every step of the way.

“”It was a long recruiting process,”” Whitney said. “”It was fun at times and somewhat stressful at times, but I feel like I made the right decision.””

So does Robbie.

“”For the most part I just attempted from behind the scenes to give (Whitney) information on what I thought about the schools, what I thought about the coaches and where I thought her best opportunities were,”” Robbie said. “”In addition, I would think about her personality and where I thought it made most sense for her to go.””

Although getting all the information about the schools was important to him, Robbie said the most important thing was that Whitney would base the decision on what would make her happy.

However, with the final schools being

Arizona, Texas and Florida, Robbie said he was pulling for his alma mater from the start.

After Robbie’s older daughter Sybil went to Tennessee on a basketball scholarship, he said he would rather Whitney stay home to avoid the challenges of being an out-of-state student.

“”With Sybil at that time being in Tennessee and knowing the difficulties you encounter to watch games or be involved to some degree in their lives, I knew I wanted her to stay close to home,”” he said. “”Sybil was the first to go away, and before she went, you don’t know what that entails.””

But Sybil being out of state was only temporary. She went on to do what her father never thought he would see: She became a Sun Devil.

Although she enjoyed playing for the winningest coach in college basketball history, Pat Summitt, Sybil thought that being that far away from home was tough.

“”It was really hard at first, and I got pretty homesick,”” she said. “”After being there for a while, I got comfortable with my teammates, and it wasn’t so bad.””

Nevertheless, she decided to pack it up for Tempe, creating a pretty interesting inter-family rivalry.

With Whitney and Robbie both loyal to the Wildcats, they said having a Sun Devil as part of the family will take some getting used to.

“”I never thought that I would have seen my daughter in a Sun Devil uniform,”” Robbie said. “”I guess I will just have to go to the games wearing an ASU shirt and my Wildcats hat.””

As if the sibling rivalry between Whitney and Sybil wasn’t enough, they now have the added rivalry that comes with these archrival schools.

Whitney said she would never root for the Devils, except for the women’s basketball team.

“”It is kind of weird having a sister that goes to ASU,”” she said. “”Both of the schools are such hated rivals, but (Sybil and I) both do root for each other.””

The Dosty sisters also share one common denominator: the support of their loving father.

Sybil and Whitney both said that if it wasn’t for their father, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

“”He is my biggest inspiration,”” Sybil said. “”He is not even the best player on the court, but he definitely is the hardest worker. He inspired me to work as hard as I do.””

Added Whitney: “”He has always been there for me, and I really appreciate everything he has done. He definitely has been an important person in my life, and I am happy he is my dad.””